Rotary engine.



W. G. DSDD. RCI'ARl ENGINE. AYPL'IA'TION FILED Nov. s, 1908.

4,692., f` Patented Feb. 1910.

2 /55 .Z gli@ onere,

WILLIS e. Donn, or SAN sunscreen, estresante.

ROTARY, nnctrsr esencia.

Specication of Lette.-

intel-it.

Patented lFeb.- 8, 1910.

Application filed Noiirembcr 6, Les: erial No. 461,436.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIS Gf Donn, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Rotary Engines, of which the following is a specification.

'My invention relates to rotary engines adapted to be driven by any expansive fluid, land the object of the invention is to provide la motor of high efficiency with a moderate peripheral speed of the rotor.

For this purpose the' invention comprises a casing having'a series. of steam chambers the capacities of which-vary in accordance with the ratioof expansion-desired, and' a rotor in said casing, the periphery of-which contains a series of reactionary nozzles, whichrotor is so constructed as to momentarily confine the steam in said chambers before permitting' of the passage therefrom through said reactionary nozzles into the next chambers of the series.

The invention also resides in other novel features hereinafter described and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompany'- ing drawings, in which- Figure l is a side section of my engine, and Fig. 2 is a vertical cross section of the same.

3 is the casing, and 4 is the rotor.

5 are reactionary nozzles of any section desired.

6 are the steam? chambers.

7 are bridges extending across the outlets of a portion ofthe steam chambers, the purpose of whichwill be hereinafter explained. 8 is an inlet through which the impelling medium is introduced.

9 is the outlet or'exhaust.

The direction of rotation is indicated'by the curved arrow.

Nhile the drawing shows a single motor in which the available energy contained in the steam i isl converted I into useful work by successive drops in lpressure, or stages, it is obvious that this 'device may be compounded, tripled, or quadrupled, as the requirements of cach particular case may demand. Y' A M i impulse; so that the rotor, momentarily conlines the steam within this chamber; but, owing to the momentum thus obtained, the rotor immediately thereafter again opens the passage into the chamber, and this operation 1s. repeated successively, filling closmg and discharging each of the chambers 6, until thesteam escapes into the outlet or exhaust 9, thus mpelling the rotor forward by a series of rapidly recurring momentary impulses as each steam chamber is filled and discharged.

The steam in passing through the nozzles and the respective steam chambers has'been finally reduced in pressure to approximately four pounds, upon reaching the last chamber of the series and has increased in volume approximately twenty times and each nozzle of the rotor must therefore be of suiiicient area to discharge or exhaust this volume of steam with the velocity due to the pressure, approximately thirty thousand feet per minute. It is obvious, therefore, that if the steam were permitted to freely enter the nozzle of the rotor and be discharged' into the first steam chambers of the series at the initial pressure, with the attendant velocity due to its pressure, approximately fifty-five thousand feet per minute,vunless the peripheral speed of the rotor approximated .one half the velocity of the steam, to obviate which is one of the objects' of this invention, there would' be but little opportunity afforded for proper expansion to take place and the highest eiiiciency would not be attained, and it is desirable therefore that the admission of steam to the first chambers ofthe series xshould be as far as possible underv control lFor the purpose of cuttingolf, and conl trolling the quantity of, steam' to be admitted to the nozzle of the rotor and' discharged into the steam chambers, the brldges speed of the rotor,

'"tained in the steam Q l essaies 7, extending across the outlets oi. the steam chambers are employed Where required, and, by increasing or diminishing the width of these bridges, the opening of the receiving end of the nozzle is controlled, that is, an earlier or later cut-oli' is obtained, and only that quantity ot' steam is admitted under initial pressure, and passed through the various steam chambers of the series, as will permit of a proper ratio ot expansion. Thus an efficient conversion of the energy coninto useful work is moderate peripheral approximating lifteen thousand feet per minute.

From.' the above description,I it will be seen that my steam engine litters in principle from turbines in which there is a con obtained, and at a tiiiuous and uninterrupted lloiv of steam from the inlet to the outlet, and which derive their force from the momentum, and pressure upon theA rotor, o'l the continuously liovving steam. In my engine there -is no such continuous tloiv, but, When the rotor arrives-at the position shown in Fig. l, the "steam, which, after various degrees of ei;H pansioii, has entered the several steam chain .'bei's 6, is momentarily arrested and conlincd thei chan'ibers in said chambers.-

hacli ot thus torms a steam reservoir like that formed by the steam chest of a recipr/ocating steam engine. When the rotor' next moves so that the inlet and outlet portions of the reactionary nozzles 5 respectively connect two adjacent steam chambers or reser voirs, then a momentary impulse talcs place at each reactionary nozzle. Hence the rotor is iinpelled by a series of rapidly recurring impulses at the various nozzles in Vthc rotor, and in this respect-my inventiondideis'fi'om the ordinary turbine. f

A further improvement 'consistsv in the form of the nozzles in the rotor. The inlet and the outlet ot' each nozzle are svmmctrically arranged oii/'the two sides of the central plane transverse to the axis of the rotor, the result ot which is that the steam, in passA ing through said nozzle, is given no delicow tion or movement Whatever in a direction parallel With the axis oi2 the rotor, but moves Wholly in a plane perpendicular to said. axis. Consequently the propulsive action of the steam is Wholly in the direction of rotation. While I have herein shown the bridges 7 for the purpose of cutting-ell and momenta rily conlining the steam in thc steam chainbcrs, other cons factions may be employed for 'the same purpose Without departing from the spirit of my invention.

The reactionary nozzles here shown, suc cessively filling and discharging the steam chambers, and the varying cut-olil employed enabling the` impelling medium to be held in -sion until its available energy has been con-- believed to be control duringr the various stages. of expanverted into useful Work, are new in a rotor of this'class, and therefore 1. A rotary steam engine, comprising a casing, and a rotor adapted to rotate therein, the casing containing a series of steam chainbers, and the rotor having a series. of passages, each passage being` adapted 'toh connect in succession each pair of adjacent steam chambers permit the steam to liow from -one of said-chambers to the next in the series,

and the rotor being provided with'means arranged to confine the steam in said chambers while said passage is moving from a vposition connecting`A one pair of adjacent chambers to a position connecting the next pair of vadjacent chambers,

2. A rotary steam engine comprising a casing Within Which are located a series of independent steam chambers of constantly increasing volumetric capacity, from the in letv toward the outlet, a rotor Within the periphery of which are located a series of reactionai'y nozzles, adapted to successively con- .nect each steam chamber with the next of the i l l series, the casing being` provided With Ameans tor cutting of and momentarily confining the steam Within the said chambers 'whereby an intermittentflowof the steam in its passage through. the engine is obtained anda succession of forward impulsesare imparted to 'the rotor, 'substantially as described.

A rotary steam engine, casing and a rotor adapted to rotate therein, the casing containing a series of'ste'am chambers', and the rotor having a series of'passages, each passage having` an inlet and outlet both rearwardly directed, and each passage being adapted to connect in succession each pair et adjacent steam chambers to permit the steam to flow from one of said chambers to the next in the series, and the rotor being proyided with means arranged to coni'inc the steam in said chambers While said passage is movinglfrom a ,position connecting one pair of adjacent chambers to a poi-ia tion connecting the next pair of adjacent chambers, substantially as described.

A. rotary engine comprising a casing' having from the inlet toward. the outlet a series oi steam chambers, a rotor rotatable substantially as described.

comprising a therein having a series of passages for the said casing being provided with a of devices 'lor cutting olf the steam steam chamber to the steam, series passing' trom one next of the series, diminishing from the inlet toward the outlet, substantially as described.

' 5. A rotary steam engine conigtirising` a casing4 Within which are located a series of independent expansion chambers ot 'confor periods progressively of v,

sti-indy increasing `volumeufe capacity, in combination with a refer Within the periphery of which are located a series of rear- Wardly directed reactionary nozzles, which slecessvely connect and discharge from their inlet 'toward their outlet, each chamber of the series into he chamber next preceding it? whereby a succession of forward impiilses ie given te the 4rotor, and the energy con' tained in 'the steam is converted into Wef'lvr eeeee through a series of expansion Stages substantlally as described.

In teetnnony whereo have hereunto set my hand ln'the presence of two subseubmg Wltnesses.

WHS G. DUDE).

` Witnesses;

FRANCES M. WRIGHT, D. B. RICHARDS. 

